At the most recent ICEL event, Prof Friel, who ,as well as being Director of ICEL is also Special Advisor to the President of UL on European Policy, gave a very well received seminar on the stark consequences between a ‘deal/no deal’ scenario for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. Noting that until now, almost all commentary had been both speculative and agenda driven, today – with the release of the draft withdrawal agreement and a fuller picture of the contingency plans of both the UK and the EU nearer to completion – the stark choices between the two options could for the first time be directly compared side by side.

Prof Friel however went on the note that even if Prime Minister May succeeds against the odds of securing parliamentary approval for the deal, that will not end the negotiations. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it will be nothing more than the end of the beginning as both the EU and the UK turn towards the even more difficult task of negotiating the permanent future relationship between both jurisdictions. For those who thought that an agreement would bring to an end the incessant news coverage of Brexit, Prof Friel had no reassurance other than another few years of blood, sweat and toil!

Seminar Nov 22, 2019 in the UL Appeal Court.